MODELS, DETERMINANTS AND TESTING OF CHILD TEMPERAMENT

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to present five models explaining the structure of child temperament, to point to the determinants of child temperament as well as the methods and the importance of determining characteristics of child temperament types. The paper describes five models or theoretical approaches explaining the structure of child temperament, namely the models devised by Thomas and Chess (1950), Buss and Plomin (1984, 1986), Rothbart (1981), Campos et al. (1983), and by Kagan (1994). The characteristics of child temperament types are determined based on the assessment done by parents, educators or teachers by the means of a questionnaire or a structured interview, or by observation and physiological assessment in the natural environment (home or kindergarten) and in a laboratory. Questionnaires adapted to the aforementioned models and the age of children are most frequently used nowadays.